FRIENDS OF CWMDONKIN PARK CONSTITUTION

Name 

  1. The Group shall be called ‘Friends of Cwmdonkin Park’ (hereafter referred to as FOCP).

Affiliation 

  1.  At present there is no recognised national or regional governing body for park regeneration. Therefore, FOCP will be unable to affiliate to such a body. The aspiration of the group will be to be part of such a governing body when practical. 

Aims and Objectives 

The objectives of FOCP are to actively aid the regeneration of Cwmdonkin Park (hereafter referred to as “the park”) and its facilities and specifically:  

3.1 To make the park the best it can be for the community and encourage community engagement with the park. 

3.2 To support the authority (as defined in section 11.1) with time, effort and money to help maintain the park and make it as beautiful and bio-diversified as possible. 

3.3 To help in education about the park, its history, flora and fauna. 

3.4 To provide community events in the park.   

3.5 To provide, restore, retain and enhance equipment for the park for recreation and health improvement.   

3.6 To promote cleanliness of the park 

3.7 To interact with other groups, e.g. gardening clubs, sports clubs, and schools. 

3.8 To promote links between Dylan Thomas and the park. 

3.9 To liaise with other groups regarding development of Parks and Gardens in the City & County of Swansea and to work in partnerships with groups that include: 

  • City & County of Swansea Community Development & Parks Operations Sections. 
  • Comprehensive Schools. 
  • Primary and Junior Schools.  
  • Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers. 
  • Youth Services. 
  • Gardening groups. 
  • Residents of Cwmdonkin and surrounding areas, and other related groups. 
  • Any other group deemed appropriate. 

 3.10 To provide members of FOCP with: 

  • Regular planning meetings 
  • Regular feedback on minutes of meetings and decisions made  
  • Nomination rights and Voting rights 

Membership 

  1. FOCP shall consist of Honorary Officers (The Executive Committee – “The EC”) and Members 
  1. Membership of FOCP shall be open to and not unreasonably restricted to anyone who is prepared to accept and support the objectives of the group and pay any agreed membership subscription 
  1. In accepting membership a person agrees to abide by the constitution of FOCP and the rulings of The EC. 
  1. Members under the age of 18 will be considered Junior Members.  
  1.      Members under the age of 18 will not be eligible for any office of The EC that has a  

           legal status. 

Membership Fees 

5.0      Membership fees shall be stipulated by The EC after consultation with the FOCP members at the Annual General Meeting or at a specially arranged General Meeting as an annual payment. 

5.1     The EC may decide upon other charges or subscription after consultation with the members. 

Officers 

  1. At the FOCP Annual General Meeting, the members shall as the first order of the day elect a Chair. The Chair will then take the meeting and the following officers shall be elected to The EC: 

A Secretary, and a Treasurer, any other office the members deem necessary. These shall be the Honorary Officers.  Honorary Officers must be members of FOCP but may not be elected local councillors. 

  1. The Honorary Officers shall hold office for a calendar year, being elected annually at
    FOCP Annual General Meeting (AGM). All Honorary Officers shall retire Annually but still be eligible for re-appointment subject to provision 9.5. 

 Executive Committee 

  1. The Executive Committee shall consist of no fewer than three (3) members and no more than twelve (12) members. 
  2. The Quorum for general meetings shall be six (6) members including at least three (3) of the Executive Committee; or 10% of the Membership, whichever is greater. 
  1. The Executive Committee may fill any casual vacancy occurring, after consultation with
    members attending a general meeting. 

Finance 

  1. All monies raised by or on behalf of FOCP, including Local Authority funding and sponsorship, shall be used to further the objectives of FOCP and for no other purpose. 
  1. The Executive Committee shall be legally responsible for the proper use of monies raised
    as set out in section 8.0.  The Treasurer is responsible for the proper recording of
    FOCP finances. 
  1. Proper accounts shall be kept of all sums of money received and paid out by the FOCP. 
  1. An independently examined statement of accounts, up to and including this date, shall be presented at the AGM. 
  1. The funds of FOCP shall be lodged at a bank or building society in an account in the name of FOCP, and all cheques, drafts etc. drawn on these accounts shall be signed by any two of the Honorary Officers. 
  1. In the event of the resignation of one or more of the signatories, immediate action must be taken to remove their name from the bank or building society’s records. 

Annual General Meeting and other Meetings 

  1. An AGM will be held in July to September of each calendar year.
     
  2. The Constitution must be agreed at the AGM after election of officers. If
    amendments are proposed, the motion shall require a two-thirds majority vote. 
  1. An annual report and an independently examined statement of accounts, up to the end of the financial year, shall be presented at the AGM. 
  1. The Secretary shall give not less than twenty (20) working days’ notice of the date of the AGM to all members. 
  1. The AGM shall elect Honorary Officers in accordance with clause 6.0 
  1. The Secretary shall receive nominations for Honorary Officers not less than 7 days prior to the AGM. Nominations shall be accepted from the floor of the meeting. Nominations can only
    be accepted from persons eligible to vote at the AGM. 
  1. The dates of other general meetings and Executive Committee meetings shall be
    determined at the previous meeting. In addition, the Executive Committee may call a
    meeting when considered necessary, or upon the written request of at least two (2) members
    of FOCP subject to giving five (5) working days’ notice to members. 
  1. All members shall be entitled to vote at general meetings of FOCP and shall have equal voting rights. 
  1. The quorum for the AGM shall be six members including at least three (3) Honorary Officers. 
  1. An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) shall be called by an applicant in writing to the
    secretary signed by no fewer than 10% of the members, allowing five (5) working days’ notice to members. 

Voting Procedures 

  1. Each member shall be entitled to one (1) vote. 
  1. A motion shall be carried by a simple majority of those present and voting, except when
    the motion is a constitutional amendment, which shall require a two-thirds majority. 
  1. The chair shall have a casting vote in addition to a deliberative vote. 

Property and Staff 

  1. The park is owned by the City and County of Swansea (“the authority”). However, if FOCP decides to purchase fixed equipment to be put into the park, the nature and ownership of such equipment must be agreed with the authority in advance. FOCP shall only purchase any fixed equipment after receiving confirmation from the authority whether it will underwrite the ongoing maintenance of such equipment. 
  2. Any items which are purchased by FOCP and not fixed will remain in the ownership of FOCP. 

Discipline and Appeals 

12.0   The Executive Committee shall have the power to take appropriate disciplinary action              against any member and shall have the authority to terminate the membership of any member guilty of conduct deemed to be to the detriment of FOCP. 

12.1    There shall be the right to appeal to the Executive Committee or an appeal committee set up  

by it to act on its behalf, against any such disciplinary action. If the matter cannot be             resolved an independent arbitrator can be appointed. 

Dissolution Procedures 

  1. In the event of FOCP ceasing to exist, and following the discharge of all debts and liabilities, any assets at the time of dissolution shall be gifted in trust to the City and County of Swansea or any bodies as the Executive Committee sees fit that will best serve the community for which the assets were purchased. No member shall obtain any asset of FOCP. 

Signed………………………………………… (Chair and Treasurer) 

 H W Austin 

Signed………………………………………….(Vice-chair) 

A P Dobson 

Signed………………………………………….(Secretary) 

M O’ Carroll 

Date…………………………………………… 

Important Announcement – Cwmdonkin Park Easter Egg Hunt cancelled

We have been considering carefully whether to proceed with the proposed Easter Egg Hunt scheduled for Good Friday (10 April) – taking account of the Government’s  advice concerning Corona virus (Covid 19).  That advice is to avoid unnecessary contact with  other people and, specifically,  to steer clear of  large gatherings.   Bearing in mind that the Easter Egg Hunt has attracted hundreds of children (and their parents/carers) in previous years,  we have concluded that it would be irresponsible to proceed.  The event is therefore CANCELLED for the current year.

We apologise to everyone who was looking forward to the event, but the cancellation decision is unfortunately inevitable in order to protect visitors to the park. Other Friends of Cwmdonkin Park  events,  which are currently in the planning stage, will be reviewed over the next few weeks.

Hedley Austin

Acting Chair

Friends of Cwmdonkin Park

Easter Egg Hunt

It’s been a while since we have posted, but we are very pleased and excited to be able to advise everyone of our Easter egg Hunt on Sunday, April 14th.

The event is free for everyone but the hunt is aimed for children up to 11. Please arrive at the kiosk anytime from between 2pm and 4pm to sign up.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Christmas in the Park

We will be holding our annual Christmas in the Park event, on Friday 14th December, between 5.15pm and 7.00pm.

The event is free and organised by Friends of the Park for the local community. We would welcome anyone who is interested in joining the ‘Friends’ committee, to enquire using this link, via the web site.

The Programme is as follows:

5.15-5.30pm Formal welcome, mince pies and mulled wine

5.30-5.40pm Reading

5.40-6.00pm Salvation Army Band

6.00-6.10pm Reading

6.10-6.30pm 4D Choir

6.30-6.40pm Reading

6.40-7.00pm Salvation Army Band

Lighting will be provided at the Grove and Penlan Crescent entrances.

Unveiling of Dylan Thomas Memorial Stone

The Friends of Cwmdonkin Park are delighted that the initiative they took to renovate the stone has now happened and can be duly celebrated. We invite all who can to attend the ceremony.

Please see below for details of the event.

Coffee Morning

We are holding a fundraising Coffee Morning at the Lord Mayor’s Mansion House in Ffynone, on Thursday 11th October, 10.30am-12.00pm.

Tickets are £5 each and are available from the Park Kiosk.

Halloween Tales Event – 27th October

We are holding an exciting family Halloween Event on 27th October at 4.30PM.

As long as the weather holds up, we hope to see you there.

The timings are approximately as follows:

4.30PM Fancy Dress Parade

5.00PM Gower Fairy Tales Part 1

5.30PM Gower fairy Tales Part 2

5.45PM Bat Walk

6.15PM End